Recently I went to the Mounds with some other members and upon leaving found that my trans wouldn't shift and the front pinion seal is leaking like crazy. I bought another set of axles for their insides (shafts are cut-up, improper brackets, etc...). I figure if I am going to replace the pinion seal and fluid, it is a GREAT time to put the new (to me) gears and whatever else I need out of that axle (carrier I think) into my axles. I need to do the front ASAP and I have the Timken bearing kit (DRK334TJ). I need someone who is knowledgeable with axles and gears to help me with the front axle gear switch. I know there is a crush sleeve etc... and I am not sure how to check preload nor do I have an in/lb torque wrench. I have looked this up to the best of my ability before posting and cannot find anything for my particular situation.

Just to be clear I am looking for someone to help me take the gears out of a TJ D30 3.73 gears and put them in my TJ D30 that currently has 3.07 gears or at least help me with some DETAILED instructions.

You need specialized tools and a press. Pm BigB, he does gear set installs.

Which part of it do I need a press for (the bearings)? If need be I can take the part that needs the press down the road and have whatever needs to be pressed, pressed there. The only specialized tools I can think that I would need are an in/lb torque wrench, and some caliper/clearance measuring tools (not sure) . I am fairly sure that I could pull the internals out of the extra axles and just put them in my axles using the crush sleeves or shims that are in it, but IDK as I can't find anything about swapping gears from one D30 to another. All I know for sure is that I have all the parts necessary and I am fairly certain I have to use the carrier out of the donor axle. The Timken kit came with some gear marking stuff, bearings, seals, etc...

There's alot more to setting gears than just putting in the parts. The reason there are shims and crush sleeves is that the axle housings may be slightly different.

The reason you can't find anything about swapping gears is that there's way more to it than just swapping the parts.

If I didn't know that I probably would have already started this myself, but instead I asked for help which is not something I normally would do.

There are TONS of threads about complicated things on GL4X4, JeepForum, WranglerForum, Pirate, etc... There is no way that this is soooo difficult that someone couldn't make a thread for it. The reason I thought I couldn't find anything on it is that it probably doesn't come up that often.

It comes up a lot, and almost everyone takes it to a shop or an knowledgeable friend to get it done. I could probably tear down an engine and put it back together, but if I had gears to be set I'd take it somewhere.

A simple google search of "setting axle gears" brought up this page on Pirate:

You need more then a in pound torque wrench. You need to set back lash. Pinion depth and have the correct pattern. It's not something you learn over night. I'd be willing to bet of your not a complete pain in the ass bigB would gladly charge you a very reasonable fee to set them up and show you what he's doing of you bring pizza and beer. There's alot to it

It comes up a lot, and almost everyone takes it to a shop or an knowledgeable friend to get it done. I could probably tear down an engine and put it back together, but if I had gears to be set I'd take it somewhere.

A simple google search of "setting axle gears" brought up this page on Pirate:

Well if there's not anyone in the area that can help me swap the gears, is there a way to tell if the C's on a front axle are bent or out of place? In the set I bought the guy said that the front was ok except he thought that the Cs might be slightly bent because he couldn't get the camber or caster right (forget which one). Is there a measurement that I can take, or an angle to check to know for sure?

The first thing would probably be to check that the uppers and lowers are aligned, i.e. that the "c's" are not bent. Once you established the line from upper to lower you'd use that to check the other angles

For camber you'd be checking that the angle of the ball joints to the tubes is the same on each side.

For caster you be checking that the ball joint lines lie in the same plane. i.e. that one side is not rotated vs the other. Also that they are within some angle to the diff, but I do not know what that angle should be.

The first thing would probably be to check that the uppers and lowers are aligned, i.e. that the "c's" are not bent. Once you established the line from upper to lower you'd use that to check the other angles

For camber you'd be checking that the angle of the ball joints to the tubes is the same on each side.

For caster you be checking that the ball joint lines lie in the same plane. i.e. that one side is not rotated vs the other. Also that they are within some angle to the diff, but I do not know what that angle should be.

Thanks for the info. I forgot that the other axle is set up for a 3 link so I can't use it anyway.